Herald of Hope: Saturday Night

Mittwoch, 6. Juni 2012

Herald of Hope: Saturday Night

June 2, 2012 - After Billy Graham preached in Budapest in 1989, residents said "it was like the angels came down from heaven." One local pastor said Saturday that "the angels are back."

by Janet Chismar

For the more than 900 people who came forward at the Franklin Graham Festival, it did seem as if angels were gently nudging them along.

One woman from the crowd of 11,200 said that angel took the form of a counselor named Krisztina.

“It was my first time to take part in an event like this,” Krisztina said later. “From the time I walked in, I was moved by hearing the music. I began to pray that God would pour out His Spirit and hoped that I would be part of helping to change someone’s life.”

To have the Festival this year was God’s perfect timing, she explained. “It has been a hard year – there have been changes in church laws and now some churches don’t even exist legally. There has been so much tension but this event united churches. It is great timing.”

Hungary has recently rewritten its constitution, and along with this comes a new definition of what the law recognizes as a church. This was meant to correct abuse by pseudo-churches, but it unfortunately has affected several established and legal congregations.

On Saturday, Krisztina counseled a woman who happened to be a pastor’s wife. “She said she went to church her whole life but never really accepted Jesus into her heart,” Krisztina explained. “I think she felt so much shame and didn’t want to admit that to anyone in her church.

“But she felt safe coming here and praying with me.”

She thought it was strange when Franklin said to “look at the person next to you – they are your new best friend.” But it ended up being true. “We hugged and I feel so close to her. We exchanged numbers and I will follow up with her.

“I was crying –it is such a huge thing when people are reborn,” said Krisztina.

The woman, who is from Romania and preferred not to be named, also cried and thanked her human angel.

Redeemed and Free—In His Heart

"I have scars and tattoos on my body, but I had even more scars on my heart,” said an inmate who testified Saturday night. “Now I have peace in Christ. My shame was lifted and light has filled my heart."

He is part of a group of inmates from a prison in Vác that share their testimonies with fellow inmates from across Hungary.

“It is an honor to speak about grace,” said the man who was in and out of juvenile detention centers as a youth.

In 1993, he committed a crime that has kept him imprisoned since.

“I met Jesus through the testimony of another inmate,” said the man. “It shows that Jesus Christ loves people no matter what. He gave me a new heart and helped me to repent. He does not condemn if you turn to Him.”

The inmate told of how he was in bondage to many sins: “You can see evidence of one way I abused my body. My hands are yellow—I smoked 40 cigarettes a day for 21 years.”

Now that he is redeemed, said the man, he just wants to share the love of Jesus. “I have been in prison for the last 19 years, but I have been saved for 18.

“Even behind bars, they have been the best 18 years of my life. If the flowing blood of Christ can wash me clean, He can save anyone—there is no favoritism with God.

“Prison does not change anyone. God does,” he concluded to a huge round of applause.

Voice of the Gospel Christian Radio - Radio Stimme des Evangeliums

Mittwoch, 6. Juni 2012